


the fault in our vending machines

by N0EL



Category: Kagerou Project
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Artistic Liberties Taken With Punctuation, Crack Treated Seriously, Drama, Falling In Love, Forbidden Love, Love Confessions, Misuse of the Japanese Language, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-04 03:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17296481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N0EL/pseuds/N0EL
Summary: across the years; shintaro and soda-kun.tsubomi kido inhales and exhales softly. in and out. this is momo's brother. it would be rude to abandon him on the street right here and now. never mind the passerbys giving the two strange and pitying looks. in and out........





	the fault in our vending machines

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: wtf is timelines this is probably canon compliant?????? depends on the canon?????????? anyway im too lazy to edit much so sorry bout anything wonky owo
> 
> || [WE WAIT FOR THE DAY WE SHALL SEE EACH OTHER / COUNTING THE MOMENTS AS WE WALK](https://youtu.be/opbyol3ZWck) ||

's-soda-kun...... my beloved childhood friend...... ever since the day we met, i've wanted to tell you--'

i.  
that summer had been a particularly hot one, with temperatures reaching upwards of 38 degrees celsius. but of course, the shintaro kisaragi at the time had no such concept of expressing "temperature" with numerical values; nor had he lived through enough summers to have much for comparison. all he knew was that it was _hot._

'dad,' he complains. 'it's _hot'_

shintaros baby sister momo babbles incomprehensibly in her stroller.

kisdadragi sighs. conveniently, they pass by a convenience store, with a convenient freezer full of conveniently cool drinks conveniently right outside. 'come on, we'll buy some soda as a treat.'

it's a quick shopping trip - shintaro immediately slumps against the freezer, as his father grabs a random can of cola and buys it at the counter. it's not until they're out in the glaring sun again that shintaro is able to properly admire the dazzling red of the soda can. despite the heat encompassing the rest of world, this little spot in the universe feels fresh and welcoming. even held in his sweaty little palms, soda-kun stays cool and glistening.

although shintaro struggles a bit with the ring on the lid, soda-kun soon bares its heart to him with a clean popping sound. bringing the metal rim to his lips, shintaro cant help but notice how it fizzes a little into his face - the jolt brings to the world a whole new awareness. and then the cool, sweet, ambrosia! it fizzes enough to bring a small gasp to shintaro's lips, yet it holds a distinct and sweet flavour. the dark liquid tastes like blooming young love and pure light condensed into something full of hope.

shintaro's first taste of soda-kun was salvation, and a tender blossom of life-long passion.

ii.

there's always a few constants in shintaro's life as he grows up. the presences of mother and momo. his unfailingly excellent grades. his talent in nearly everything he chooses to try. most of the world gets boring quickly. he enjoys video games, and finds puzzles and equations alright, and likes to mess around with technology, but there's not really anything he's truly passionate about. nothing, that is, but soda-kun. soda-kun is interesting; engaging; so sugary, yet not excruciatingly sweet.

"soda-kun." shintaro is about ten, solemn-eyed and (mostly) quite serious. "you'll always be here for me, right?"

soda-kun does not reply, but its familiarity seems to be an affirmation of itself. shintaro cradles the can for a moment, before popping open the lid and taking a chug of cola. the fizz makes him cough a little, but shintaro welcomes the way the world feels hydrated and energised when his beloved soda-kun is with him.

then happens the absolutely unthinkable.

"watch out!" shintaro barely has time to look up before the ball flies into his chest... and knocks soda-kun from his hand.

shintaro himself is fine, obviously - but his heart is not. "COLA-KUN!" he screams, dropping to his hands and knees. in front of him lies despair in the form of the sweet dark liquid pooled around a fallen soda can.

"sorry 'bout that!" it's the voice of some insignificant young human. "uh....dude, are you okay? sorry 'bout your soda."

shintaro, barely processing his surroundings, does not respond. the world feels out of balance. how could this be...?

"soda-kun." shintaro's voice nearly cracks, so deep and earnest the sound his prepubescent vocal cords could produce for soda-kun. "though the world laugh in your face uncaringly, i will care in its place. i will be your world instead - that is, if you want." he's slightly embarrassed, but he swallows thickly. today's mishap was too close for his liking.

"let's stay together... as long as we have each other, i think it'd be okay to face the world together."

iii.

"y-you're just jealous!" even as shintaro grips soda-kun protectively, shielding it against the jeering third-graders, the usually-respectable middle schooler can feel his cheeks heating up. those baka nine year olds only laugh harder. they don't understand.....stifling a sob, shintaro flees across the playground. _ayano_ wouldn't mock his love like this.

"so...y-you embraced a vending machine as it finally let you be with your beloved cola-san, before holding the soda to the heavens and declaring your intentions to wed the vending machine gods?"

"what?!? no-" shintaro starts to correct.

"sorry. i meant, declaring your intentions to wed the vending machine gods - if only they hadn't failed to let you be with soda-san so often in the past?" ayano tateyama lets out a cough that sounds suspiciously like stifled laughter. "i guess those kids just can't understand your intricate relationship! don't let them get you down."

"i know, right?" putting his head into his arms, shintaro sighs. "soda-kun.... how i wish to be with you right at this moment. hey, anyway, how did that maths test go?"

ayano winces. "uh...."

_later, sprawled on his bed, staring at the ceiling through half-closed eyes, the memories are much too loud and pounding and vivid. ayano had accepted his eccentricties. she'd bought him cans of cola from vending machines sometimes - brought him closer to his beloved soda-kun. he shouldn't have taken her for granted. she'd taken him for who he was and . he shouldn't have taken her for granted. he shouldn't have taken her for granted. he hadn't really cared about people, but now.....the mantra runs on an endless loop through his head. he shouldn't have taken her for granted._

iv.

"wow, master, are you certain that's safe for your body?" ene nearly looks genuinely concerned at the stacks of soda surrounding shintaro.

"it'll be fine," shintaro insists. "soda-kun would never hurt me." he hums to himself as he adjusts some sliders on his audio editing program. tono chews peacefully in the background, being an absolutely perfect existence and the second love of shintaro's life, as always. it's probably a beautiful summer's day outside - the weather should just be entering the heat haze days by now - but the curtains block out most light that would otherwise break the peace of his musty room.

it's been a couple years now, and shintaro isn't really sure what he's doing. making music. distantly supporting his sister - he's glad she seems to be doing well these days. momo may not have anything to be proud of in him as an older brother, but shintaro is genuinely happy for her successes. he supposes that even if there's no particular happiness to be found holed up in his room, he's more or less content with where he's at.

shintaro's with his beloved soda-kun a lot more often these days - there's no such thing as school and responsibilities to separate them now. soda-kun is still as cool and comforting as all those years ago. that ambrosia is as refreshing and full of life in the dim solitude of his room as it is accompanying him in the too-bright outside world. shining quiet red in the light of his computer monitor, soda-kun's aluminium glistens in reassurance. _let my light shine for your all your darkness, shintaro. we'll be together._

dimly, shintaro becomes aware of ene's snickering. "wh- hey, ene, what's so funny?"

"you've been staring at that can of cola for two minutes, _master."_ ene brings up a picture taken using shintaro's webcam. it's shintaro, dark rings under his eyes, hair unkempt, gazing at soda-kun with a dazed smile and a softness in his eyes. the giggling grows louder. "wow, i wonder what it's telling you."

shintaro scowls defensively. "you just don't understand our love!" he throws out a hand dramatically.... knocking over a bottle of soda-kun. right into tono's food.

the pigeons perched outside wince as shintaro's scream reaches into the perfectly blue summer sky.

~.|⟲|.~

all that's happened in shintaro's life so far up to this moment now seems worth it. it was all lessons, experiences - how could he regret, here, in these moments that seem to hold the whole world? he brings the can (slightly glazed with frost....it's such a beautiful red) close to his chest, giving it the type of tender look few would ever get from him.

_'--aishiteru......desu.........'_

 

watching nearby after buying shintaro the can of cola, tsubomi kido inhales and exhales softly. in and out. this is momo's brother. it would be rude to abandon him on the street right here and now. never mind the passerbys giving the two strange and pitying looks. in and out........

**Author's Note:**

> t's been so long since ive last written for fun yknow??? ik ill likely look back on this and oh my _god_ everything will be so bad but. also. this has just been so genuinely fun to write? also its like. shinsoda. so i doubt ill mind too much even then. anyway <3<3 thanks for reading this ur absolutely awesome! || catch m on [tumblr](https://ddatsugoku.tumblr.com/) [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/ddatsugoku)


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